by Frank A. Viola
Part IV: The Believer's Supreme Calling
Let us once again turn to the two texts that we have been considering during these messages.
Ephesians 4:10 - He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.
Ephesians 1:22-23 - And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
AN OVERVIEW
We have been speaking on the Lord's need for this present hour. And I would say to you that the messages that we have been sharing and the message that we are sharing tonight are not simply things that we find in the Bible that relate to all dispensations. They are not just general themes or subjects. They are in fact the Lord's urgent word for His people today. And as we share these things and look into them once again, my prayer is that we would hear God's urgent word for this present hour. Let us take a moment and review what we have learned so far.
In our first session, we spoke on the Lord's supreme end, the end that God has in view. We said that the object of all of God's working and all of God's dealings is simply the universal fullness of Christ. That is, that the Lord Jesus Christ would fill all things -- that His stamp, His impression, His character, His mark would be upon all creation -- that Christ indeed would sum up everything in Himself and that this universe would be a complete display of the very presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we said how this was not just an abstract notion, but a very practical thing in the eyes of God.
In our second series of talks we looked at the church's supreme vocation. We said that the church's supreme vocation -- that which the church is called to -- is to be the fullness of Christ in the earth. The mission of the church is that she be the Body of Christ -- the corporate expression of Christ -- the fullness of Him that fills all in all. God has called the church to be a company of people to stand on this earth for the Lord's rights and to bring Christ into what is His own.
In the Divine thought, the church is called to manifest Christ's fullness, to extend that fullness, and to maintain His testimony on the earth. But we said that the church has fallen from her heavenly position. She has departed from God's supreme end and has deviated from that which is utmost in His heart. She has become something earthly, something institutional, something carnal. The testimony of Jesus that once was aflame in the book of Acts through the Lord's people has basically been lost. There has been a breakdown in Christianity. And so the Lord's people in general are not being the fullness of Christ in the earth. There is something dreadfully wrong. There is colossal confusion. The church has lost sight of what God is after.
We also said that this state of things -- although they be a state of failure and breakdown -- ought not to discourage us because God has not forfeited His purpose. He has not departed from His original intention. He has not forsaken what He is after. For throughout the entire Scripture, we discover that in times of spiritual declination where the Lord's people are in a state of decay, division, carnality -- where they have embraced human tradition -- where they have lost sight of what it is that the Lord has been seeking for -- God's reaction is to raise up a representative company of people, a remnant if you will, to be His fullness in the earth.
In our last session, we concentrated our attention on the Spirit's supreme operation. We said that the supreme object of all of the Holy Spirit's dealings in our lives is to develop and form the character of Christ in us. The Holy Spirit's main goal in all His workings is to fill us with Christ. Yet before He can fill us with Christ, He must first empty us. And we said that emptiness -- the emptying of self -- is the requirement, the prerequisite, the vital condition, for Christ to fill us with His character. That is, it is through the instrument of the cross that the Holy Spirit empties us of self.
In this final session, I feel led to take up this matter of the believer's supreme calling.
THE SUPREME CALLING OF THE BELIEVER
God has not only called the church corporately to be Christ's fullness in the earth, but He has also called each of us, individually, to increase Christ in the life of others. This is the call to bear fruit. It is a call to enter into the fellowship of God's Son and to be channels of His life. We are called first and foremost to impart the living Christ into others. God has called each believer to increase Christ, whether it be in the lives of unbelievers who don't know Jesus or whether it be in the lives of believers in need.
The call of God is for us to supply others with an increase of Christ so that they can come into spiritual fullness. And this is what the Lord has called every believer to. It is to reproduce Christ in others. All ministry -- whether we speak of evangelism, helping the poor, Bible teaching, preaching, or worshiping -- all of it must come under the pale of increasing Christ into others. God has called all of us to bear spiritual fruit -- to impart the Lord Jesus in the lives of other people.
Note that God hasn't given each of us the same gift. Neither has He given us the same function. We are a body, and as a body we each represent a different member of that body. We all have a different function -- we are each allotted a different sphere of ministry. But the function of each is toward the same goal, that is, to supply life to increase Christ in the earth. And so what I want to consider tonight are some of the chief principles that relate to our spiritual service.
THE MEANING OF SPIRITUAL SERVICE FROM GOD'S STANDPOINT
Before we touch on these principles, I want to say a few words about the meaning of spiritual service from God's standpoint. Spiritual service that touches God's heart must possess eternal value before God. It is not hard to find many Christians engaged in some type of spiritual work or ministry. The ministry of the Lord's people abounds today. There are many who are occupied with some type of spiritual enterprise.
However, I would suggest to you that much of the spiritual enterprises, much of the ministries, and much of the work today falls short of God's purpose. Very little of what is done in modern Christianity is marked by spiritual fullness. Rather, much of what is done in Christianity is characterized by superficiality, shallowness, weakness, inadequacy, and poverty. Much of it fails to realize God's supreme end, which is to increase His Son in the earth.
So I want to talk to you about the characteristics of a ministry, or a work, that truly bears eternal fruit. These are some of the governing principles that serve God's purpose with respect to our service. In effect, there are at least five vital characteristics that govern any work or ministry that possesses spiritual value and that serves God's supreme end. Each of these five principles are really lessons in themselves. Yet, we do not have the time to go into a detailed explanation of each one. Stated simply, if these five principles are present in the work that God has called you to, then the Lord will doubtlessly be able to secure in you a vessel to meet His need.
ONE: RELATED TO THE ETERNAL PURPOSE
All spiritual work must be related to God's purpose. This requires revelation; it requires vision. It requires, first and foremost, an intimate knowledge of the eternal purpose of God.
Ephesians 1:11 says,
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.
God works all things after the council of His own will. That simply means that the purpose of God governs all of His activities. Everything that God lays upon a servant to do with respect to spiritual work must be toward the purpose of God, else it is not His work. Look at Ephesians 1:17,
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.
I want you to notice that here Paul is speaking about a central vision. Paul speaks about His calling (meaning God's calling), His inheritance, His will, and His purpose. This is the very beginning of our spiritual service. We must understand what it is that God is seeking to build. Colossians 1:9 puts it plainly.
For this cause we also, since the day we heard [it], do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.
Before we can put our hand to the plow, we must first understand what it is that God is seeking to establish. We must see what God is seeking to build before we can start taking part in its building. So the fist law of spiritual fullness is to apprehend God's purpose. You see the purpose of God is all-governing, it's all-controlling, and it's all-comprehending. It governs everything that God does. Many believers are laboring under the mistaken notion that the Lord is simply some sort of a busybody who takes up many good and merciful activities as though they were all unrelated. But I tell you that what moves God or what God is wholly occupied with is this all-relating, all-consuming, and all-governing purpose. And He calls each of us to take part in its realization.
If we are ignorant of that purpose and lack vision of what God is after, then our work will be fragmentary. It will be limited in its anointing and restricted in its usefulness. Can you imagine if a baseball team which is comprised of nine baseball players were ignorant concerning the goal of the game? How would that affect the way they played? Certainly it would affect it much, would it not? This is the way many believers are operating today.
Many believers have seen a piece of God's purpose. They have seen an aspect of what it is that God is after. But by and large they have failed to see the big picture. And the result has been that many of the Lord's people are sidetracked on an issue, while that which is first and foremost in God's heart has been largely untouched. So in order for us to bear spiritual fruit, our work must be related to God's full purpose. That is to say, it must contribute to the increase of Christ.
I want to use an analogy that I think will help illustrate this. Suppose that there is a master who owns a lot of property. He owns a large house, a field, and much cattle. While he was away on a business trip, a hurricane came through and destroyed his home, took away much of his cattle, and killed many of his servants. A good part of the cattle that remained weren't being fed and were in need of food.
In addition, most of his crops had been wiped out and his farm equipment had been damaged. And so the master sent a letter to his remaining servants, who were now living in another location. It was a very long letter and the gist of it was this: "I want you to begin restoring what I lost. But what is first and foremost is that my house be rebuilt, for I want to live there again, but it is in no condition for me to come and abide there now."
As the servants read the letter, each one took it in a different way. One servant read it and concluded, "Our master's crops have been destroyed. Let us go and plow the field and sow new seed." And so this servant and some others went forth and put all of their zeal, all of their energy, and all of their force into restoring the crops.
Another servant focused on the fact that the farming equipment was in need of repair. He, along with some others, had a burden for that and so they went forth and began to repair the mowers, the tractors, etc. Finally, another group read the letter and said, "My goodness, the cattle need to be tended to." And so they went forth and began to feed the cattle, to nurture the cattle, and to add new stock.
As each servant was busy tending to these things, each felt that he was pleasing the master's heart. However, when the master had heard about what was being done, he was moved in that the servants all responded to his letter. Yet, although the master was somewhat pleased, He was not satisfied. For even though the servants were busy trying to please him, they had left undone that which was first and foremost in his heart -- they had left the house in ruins.
The master wrote back and said to them: "My house is still in a ruined condition. I need you all to build my house -- for my crops, my cattle and my equipment are all for the house, and if I don't have the house, I have nothing. And until the house is restored, I will not be satisfied." And so it is with the church. God's house is still in ruins, and He is calling His people to recover His testimony today.
Now I will submit to you that it is true that God wants souls saved, He wants the saints fed, and He wants us to help the poor. But the goal of our labor is not saving souls, it is not feeding the sheep, and it is not helping those with material need. The goal of our labor is to increase Christ in the earth; it is to build His church. It is to recover His testimony of fullness in His people. It is to recover the inward spiritual reality of the church.
That is to say, God wants a company of people to be built together and to be conformed to the image of Jesus corporately, not individually. His intention is to bring us to the place where we are standing on this earth for His rights. Simply put, He wants to have a corporate expression of Christ -- one new man patterned after His image. This is what God is after brothers and sisters. Not many works, but character. Not individuals, but a corporate vessel. Not quantity, but quality. Not shallowness, but fullness.
Now please understand, I am not saying that all of us are called to do the same thing. We all have a different function. We have a different measure of gift. But we are all called to embrace the same goal. This is what I am saying. And whatever it is that God has called you to do, make sure that it is related to God's purpose. For the increase of Christ determines the value of any spiritual work. The chief question about any work ought to be: "How much of this is related to the character of Christ and the building up of His church corporately?"
Therefore, everything has to be judged by how much it contributes to the purpose of God. And this is what the Lord is in need of today. So the first step, or the first characteristic of effective spiritual service is to have a revelation of God's eternal purpose. You recall when Nehemiah saw the wall of Jerusalem broken down, he wept and entered into the travail of the Lord. He then busily engaged the remnant to rebuild the wall. As you read the book of Nehemiah you find that different ones restored a different part of the wall. But they all saw the same goal. They all saw the same pattern. They were all building the same wall. And so the Lord wants us to see the finality of His purpose and to relate all of our spiritual work and service to it in a vital way.
TWO: ORIGINATED IN THE DIVINE MIND
All spiritual work must originate in God's mind. Therefore, spiritual service requires supplication -- it requires seeking the Mind of the Lord. It necessitates getting His thought. Ephesians 3:2,7-8 says,
If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward ...Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.
Paul says, "I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given me." In other words, the work of God must originate from God. God must conceive the work. God must author the work. God must commission us to the work. And the peril of much of our spiritual service today is that we take up a spiritual work or a spiritual enterprise out of human need. We see a need and we say, "now I must fulfill the need." And although this seems to be an attractive thing to do, oftentimes we enter into a work that God is not behind. Let it be clear that God commissions all of His work. We must really be before the Lord and see what it is that He wants to do.
All true spiritual work comes out of Divine commission. I refer you to Acts 13:2 for this principle. If you remember, there was a company of believers at Antioch who were praying and fasting and ministering unto the Lord. Acts 13:2 says, "As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them."
The Holy Ghost commissions us to His work. He puts a special burden upon us. Thus, He Himself is the Author of the work. So this is the second characteristic of a work that possesses spiritual significance. We must come to the place where we are willing to do anything that the Lord says, but we are not willing to move unless God tells us to move. For unless God moves through us, we will be engaged in a work that is not God's, but ours. And I think that many believers today have initiated the work on their own. And after they initiate the work on their own they ask God to bless it. And when God's blessing isn't there and the fullness isn't there, they are perplexed. Sadly, much of our work falls into this category. We need God to originate it!
THREE: SUSTAINED BY DIVINE POWER
A work that bears eternal fruit must be sustained by Divine power. All spiritual work must not only originate with God Himself, but it must be sustained by God Himself. That is to say, all spiritual work requires dependence upon the Lord. Ephesians 3:20 says,
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us...
Notice the wording there, "...unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." What power is this? It is His power. What God originates He Himself must sustain.
You know the Lord Jesus said something related to this when He gave the parable of the vine and the branches. He said, "Abide in me and I in you" and He pointed out that the branch cannot bear fruit of itself; it must remain in the Vine. And then He gave the punch line, saying, "Apart from me you can do nothing." Brothers and sisters, it is not in us to do the work of God. We do not have it in us to meet the Lord's need and to meet the present situation. We cannot impart Christ into others. We cannot do anything that achieves God's end in ourselves. We are not competent to perform one fragment of God's work. And it doesn't matter how naturally gifted we are.
Herein lies the danger among many in Christianity today. It is to rely on our natural gifts, our natural power, our natural cleverness, our natural eloquence, our natural perseverance, and our natural zeal. By natural power, I mean anything you can do apart from relying on God -- apart from trusting in the Lord totally -- apart from praying and coming to the Lord in fear and in trembling.
In order for us to be useful to God's purpose we must let the Lord strip us from depending on our own natural strength. Because only Christ can bear fruit and only He is the object of the Father's satisfaction. Only Christ can minister life, only Christ can meet the Lord's need, only Christ can do anything that will reach God's end and satisfy Him. And so we need to get out of the way and let Christ work through us.
Spiritual service is not something we accomplish in ourselves. And this is where the cross comes in. God will arrange our circumstances to touch us, to bend those areas where we feel strong, so that we, like Paul, are in fear and trembling toward ourselves, but are in faith and boldness toward the Lord. When we tremble at ourselves and are confidently dependant upon the Lord, God can work through us.
While some of us are very strong by nature, others are very passive, very timid, and fearful. They have the opposite problem. Their problem is not in relying on their natural gifting to do the work of the Lord. Their natural endowment and temperament is to sit back because they are afraid. They lack confidence in God's ability to use them in spite of themselves. But dear brethren, the remedy for them is the same as the naturally powerful -- it too is the cross. Such ones need to submit to the power of the cross to strip them from their self-doubt, their self-occupation, and their human fear. Ambition and fearfulness possess the same root -- the self-life of the flesh is behind both. And the Lord must bring such believers to a place where they can on the one hand, fear and tremble at themselves, and on the other, believe and trust in the Lord's sufficiency to accomplish His work through us.
To sum this up we may say the following: only God Himself can fulfill what He has called us to do. It is one thing to work for God. It is another to work with God. But the Lord wants to bring us to the place where we are able to watch God work. We must learn how to let the Lord work through us.
Psalms 127:1 tells us that unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. And there have been many who have had a vision of the church and who have seen what God wants, but have fallen into the danger of rushing in by their own efforts, talents, strengths, wisdom, and cleverness to try to accomplish God's work. How the Lord needs us to die at Calvary, so that He can raise us up by His own resurrection power. The latter is the only power that can satisfy God and accomplish His work.
FOUR: MOTIVATED FOR GOD'S GLORY
All spiritual work must be motivated for God's glory. In other words, all spiritual work requires humility. Ephesians 1:6 contains the tremendous clause, "To the praise of the glory of His grace..."
God's calling, God's will, God's election, and God's purpose are all to the praise of the glory of His grace. Look at verse 12, "That we should be to the praise of his glory, ..." And look at verse 14, "Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." God's calling, God's purpose, God's work is all toward the praise of His glory. It is all to bring glory to God. Glory, then, is to be the governing motive of all of our spiritual service -- that God may be glorified through Christ being made all and in all. This is to be the motive of all spiritual work.
This may seem basic to many of you. So then why am I saying it? Because it is all too possible to have a carnal interest in spiritual things. It is possible to become involved in spiritual service and in spiritual work for selfish ends. You see, there is much satisfaction to the flesh in spiritual work. For some, being active in a ministry affords them favor, attention, prominence, and respect from others.
God must strip us from these things so that the sole reason that we would ever speak or that we would ever minister or that we would ever help someone is simply to bring Christ into view. It is so that people would see Christ and not us. Oh, how so many of the Lord's people need a drastic dealing of the cross to purify their motives -- to strip them from any thought of being seen by others. God desires us to have an eye single on His glory and upon His glory alone. May we learn the wonder of working unseen and serving unnoticed in the eyes of men.
FIVE: TRANSCENDING THE FORCES OF DARKNESS
The last characteristic of a work that bears fruit and that will reach God's end is that it must transcend the spiritual forces of darkness. That means that all spiritual work requires spiritual warfare.
Ephesians 6 tells us this quite plainly. Spiritual work is not a matter of trying, but of trusting. So many today are laboring in wool and not linen. (Wool is a spiritual metaphor for working in our own strength, i.e. it produces sweat. Linen is a spiritual metaphor which represents working with Divine energy.) They are burned out, for they are utilizing the energy of the flesh in the work of God. Such opens the door for the enemy's wearing out tactics. It is a difficult lesson to learn that our natural power and our natural strength are menaces to God's work.
Note that the enemy himself will always attack a work that has any eternal value and that is toward God's end. In Ephesians 6:10, Paul instructs us to be strong in the Lord and put on the whole armor of God. Following this, he lists the different pieces of the armor, which are symbols of spiritual realities. And then in verse 18, Paul writes,
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
Mark the phrase, "watching and praying." This is significant. When God told Israel to go into Canaan and to take the land, Israel began to see very quickly that the land was already possessed. A people had already occupied the land. Thus, Israel had to go and remove the Canaanites from the land by the sword. This is a picture for us. Right now Christ does not fill all things -- the enemy does. Increasing Christ in the earth is not only a matter of letting the Lord make us a channel of His life. It is also a matter of standing on the earth for His testimony and doing warfare against the enemy through prayer. Without watchfulness and prayer, we will not go very far in spiritual ministry. Such is imperative to the perseverance of any spiritual work. Much more can be said about this, but we will leave it there.
In conclusion, God's work must be done God's way. A work that God can use to fulfill His purpose must be related to His intention, it must originate in God's mind, it must be energized by His life, it must be motivated for His glory, and it must be preserved through spiritual warfare.
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